


Always

by 100SleeplessNights



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluffy Ending, HP: EWE, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, No Smut, One Shot, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-22 03:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7418566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/100SleeplessNights/pseuds/100SleeplessNights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco's mother is dead and Harry goes to comfort him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always

Harry knocked on the door to Draco's room.

"Go away, Pansy!" Draco snapped from inside the room. His voice was loud even through the door.

"It's me, Harry," Harry corrected him. His voice sounded more confident than he felt. What if Draco didn't want to see him either? What if he thought Harry had some kind of part in his mother's death?

He could hear shuffling from the other side of the door. Then the door opened a little and Harry could see Draco. His eyes were red from crying and his hair was more messy than Harry had ever seen it.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" Draco sounded weak, defeated, and it hurt Harry to see him like that.

"I wanted to comfort my boyfriend," Harry told him and gently covered Draco's fingers that gripped the edge of the door with his. Draco's lips quirked upwards a little and Harry counted it as a smile because he knew how hard it was to really smile when you had just lost someone you loved.

"Come in," Draco said and opened the door a little wider so Harry could enter.

Harry followed Draco to his bed and sat down next to him though he still kept some space between them. They hadn't been together for long and Harry didn't know how Draco wanted to be comforted.

"What can I do for you?" he asked softly.

"It already helps that you're here but..." Draco hesitated. Harry guessed it was his Malfoy pride warring with his need for comfort. "Could you just hold me for a while?"

"Sure." Before Harry could move Draco had already slid into his lap and wrapped his arms around Harry like a clingy koala.

Harry could feel Draco's tears slowly wet his shirt but he wouldn't dare discourage Draco from crying. Trusting other people didn't come easy to either of them and Harry felt honoured Draco trusted him enough to show weakness around him. He simply wrapped his arms around Draco's waist and gave his back slow calming strokes.

They stayed like that until dinner when Harry's stomach started grumbling and he summoned a house elf to bring them food. He thought Draco wasn't ready to face the Great Hall yet and Draco's lack of complaints seemed to confirm that. A few minutes later various dishes appeared on the table in the middle of the room and Harry managed to coax Draco up so they could walk over to the loveseat in front of it. Draco curled up as close to him as possible again and Harry was glad he knew Draco's likes and dislikes as it was easiest just to fill a plate for both of them and share it.

Draco only ate small bits and pieces but Harry was glad he was eating at all with everything that was currently happening.

 

"My parents were in love, you know? Their marriage wasn't arranged," Draco told Harry in a low voice when they were cuddling in Draco's bed again. "Father was supposed to marry Andromeda, mother's older sister but then she ran away to marry a muggleborn and their parents agreed to have them get married. Mother loved Father even though she didn't like what he was doing. She once told me she didn't want to live without him, no matter what hideous crimes he committed. I'd say they were Soulmates if I believed in stuff like that."

Harry winced when he saw Draco's painfilled eyes. It was his fault, in a way, that Draco's mother was dead. Maybe he could've argued for house arrest during Lucius' trial.

"I'm sorry," he told Draco and it felt more than inadequate.

"Stop that," Draco complained. "It's not your fault that my father was kissed and neither was it your fault that my mother killed herself. My father deserved to get the Dementor's kiss, Harry, and it was my mother's decision to take her own life. Nothing of it is your fault," he insisted.

Harry knew that of course but just like Sirius' death, he couldn't help feeling a little responsible for their deaths as well.

"I'm still sorry. No one should lose their parents this young."

"That's true. But we can't change it now." Tears were welling up in Draco's eyes again and Harry hugged him tighter because while he couldn't bring back Draco's parents he could at least be there for him.

"There's something else..." Draco said a few minutes later. He sounded shocked, like he had just figured something out.

"What is it?" Harry asked carefully, his fingers sliding through Draco's hair.

"I told my mother about us when I went home for Easter and... she said... she said I'd have someone to take care of me, then. She knew she'd kill herself and she... she wanted me to be safe and taken care of..." Draco started crying again after just having stopped minutes earlier. Harry could think of nothing else to do but hold him, like he had done all afternoon but he felt like it wasn't enough, like he should do more now that he knew Narcissa wanted him to keep Draco safe.

"Do you want to tell me about her?" he offered gently. He didn't want to upset Draco even more. "We should remember what she was like in life, not how she died."

"Maybe tomorrow," Draco told him. "It's almost curfew already, you better leave so you won't get caught outside after curfew."

"Are you sure you're alright on your own? I could stay the night," Harry offered. He didn't like the thought of Draco sleeping alone tonight.

"You would?" Draco sounded relieved and surprised at the same time.

"Of course I would. I want to comfort you as well as I can."

"Thank you, Harry. I... really appreciate it."

Harry smiled and kissed Draco's nose.

"We should still get ready for bed now, don't you think? I for one don't want to sleep in my clothes."

Draco raised an eyebrow. Of course he had seen Harry arrive for breakfast in rumpled clothes more than once and knew that while Harry might not prefer sleeping in his clothes he still did sometimes.

"Is 'I want to wear your pyjamas' a better reason?" Harry asked and to his delight it made Draco chuckle.

"Yes, it is," Draco said smiling. "Come on then. My green pyjamas will look great with your eyes."

 

A few minutes later they had gotten ready for bed and lied down on the bed again, Draco's back facing Harry. Harry had wrapped his arms loosely around Draco's chest and had to admit to himself he liked to be the big spoon even though he was a few inches shorter than Draco.

Draco seemed to like their arrangement as well, Harry mused, when he shuffled back a little to be closer to Harry.

"Thank you for staying," Draco said softly.

"I'll always be there for you," Harry promised and he was certain he would be even if they broke up in the future. He wanted Draco to be happy no matter whether he found this happiness with him or someone else or on his own. With that thought in mind and a smile on his face he started to fall asleep. He was almost asleep already when he heard Draco whisper, "I love you."


End file.
